Hope's Craft Room

Take a #CraftRoomTour at CraftyHope and see Hope's craft room in Fairhope, Alabama.

It's my own little space that I have complete control over. I don't have to share it with anyone else (and thus have no one else to blame for the mess and clutter!)

Tell us about your space

My craft room is a small bedroom in our house. It does have an attached 1/2 bath which is nice for access to water to clean up paint messes and glue and whatever else. It also gives me a little additional storage. The majority of my craft supplies are stored in the craft room for a wide variety of crafts. I do have a small corner in our bedroom that houses my sewing machine, vinyl cutter, and the accessories for both of those. Other than sewing, I do all my craftwork in my craft room. We do have plans for me to expand into the room across the hall once my husband's new shop is built (in a few months), and he can move out of his home office. In addition, we hope to eventually install upper and lower cabinets into my current space to hide the clutter and help my work flow a little better. For now, I'm making due. Though, I do worry that hiding everything away will make me forget what I have and treasures will go unused.

What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?

First and foremost, I painted the room a nice aqua blue before we moved into the house. Other than that, I like to make sure that there is artwork (some mine, some other artist's) within my view in any direction. This helps inspire me and distract me from some of the mess. Keeping things put away and not scattered everywhere helps me focus as well.

How do you keep organized?

It's difficult. I use loads of bins, bowls, mugs, baggies, carts, and organizers to sort my materials and try to keep like-things with like-things. And, my most-used tools are kept within reach.

Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?

Like I said above, try to keep like-things with like-things and store items that are often used together with one another. For example, I just got a set of pom-pom makers, so I'm storing them with/near my yarn. As well, almost all my paints and inks are stored on one rolling cart so I don't have to go looking far for what I need.

Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?

I have a thing for buttons ever since my mom gave me an old tin filled with my great-grandmother's buttons. Since then, I've been collecting buttons from thrift stores, yard sales, and antique malls and often use them in both my jewelry and mixed-media artwork. That original tin of my great-grandmother's is on display in the craft room, and I still haven't touched the buttons in it.

I have other treasures stashed all over the room as well. There's something about the thrill of the hunt for items I can use in my jewelry at thrift and antique stores. I have quite a few containers of old keys, chandelier crystals, broken jewelry, and rusty bits. Most of the rusty stuff, I've found in our own backyard!

In addition to all that, I've got many of my own works on display - a few jewelry items but loads of painted and mixed media pieces. They make me smile.

How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?

I've long since recognized that I HAVE to write things down/sketch them out or they slip away. So, I usually have some kind of notebook on my desk along with a bullet journal. I'm trying to get better about putting those ideas in the journal so that everything is in one place rather than scattered in several. As well, I save images on Pinterest and archive others in Instagram.

Where do you look for inspiration?

Everywhere! I love a good online challenge and often participate in a few of those each month because they often offer up inspiration that I wouldn't have found otherwise. Pinterest and Instagram are also fabulous sources of inspiration as well as my dreams. I often wake up with an idea that I need to jot down or try out.

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?

1. Additional storage space (i.e. cabinets or bookcases) with a large worktop
2. Make it a larger space (lol!)
3. Separate designated areas for each craft type (a jewelry-making area, a sewing nook, a soldering/metalwork station, a packing/shipping area, etc.)

Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!